Donald Wige v. City of Los Angeles
2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7562
9th Cir.2013Background
- Wige was charged with attempted murder in California state court and spent ten months jailed before acquittal.
- Wige filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against LAPD officers and the City of Los Angeles for false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.
- The preliminary hearing found probable cause based largely on Torres’s purported identification of Wige by officer Bellows.
- Torres later testified he did not recognize Wige and had been pressured into identifying him; Bellows denied pressuring Torres.
- The district court granted summary judgment on issue preclusion, but the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded, focusing on potential fabrication evidence as a live issue.
- The court held that the state court’s procedural posture did not resolve credibility issues, so issue preclusion did not bar relitigation of probable cause.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether state court probable cause finding bars §1983 claims | Wige argues issue preclusion applies if probable cause was found. | Defendants contend a prior finding should preclude relitigation unless exceptions apply. | Not barred; fabrication-evidence exception may apply. |
Key Cases Cited
- Awabdy v. City of Adelanto, 368 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2004) (limits on preclusion when fabrication or concealment affects probable cause)
- Cabrera v. City of Huntington Park, 159 F.3d 374 (9th Cir. 1998) (per curiam; relevance to preclusion in false arrest context)
- McCutchen v. City of Montclair, 87 Cal. Rptr. 2d 95 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999) (recognizes exceptions to general preclusion rule for preliminary hearing findings)
- Haupt v. Dillard, 17 F.3d 289 (9th Cir. 1994) (same-evidence rule; preliminary hearing vs arrest evidence)
- Morley v. Walker, 175 F.3d 756 (9th Cir. 1999) (fabrication/evidence-removed analysis in preclusion context)
- Guenther v. Holmgreen, 738 F.2d 879 (7th Cir. 1984) (probable cause on credibility issues in preclusion)
- Cooley v. Superior Court, 57 P.3d 654 (Cal. 2002) (Cal. standard for preliminary hearing credibility considerations)
- Schmidlin v. City of Palo Alto, 69 Cal. Rptr. 3d 395 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008) (questioning McCutchen's approach to preclusion)